2008 Australian Football League

[kenbuzz]

The regular season is in the books and the playoffs have begun. (God, I miss watching the games on ESPN or on my local RSN.)

Final regular season standings:
84 Geelong (21-1) 161.84%
68 Hawthorn (17-5) 131.85%
62 W.Bulldogs (15-6-1) 118.66%
52 St Kilda (13-9) 110.56%
52 Adelaide (13-9) 109.74%
50 Sydney (12-9-1) 112.45%
50 *N. Melbourne (12-9-1) 96.98%
48 Collingwood (12-10) 111.24%
---
46 Richmond (11-10-1) 97.38%
40 Brisbane (10-12) 98.00%
40 Carlton (10-12) 94.18%
32 Essendon (8-14) 81.67%
28 Port Adelaide (7-15) 95.92%
24 Fremantle (6-16) 93.73%
16 West Coast (4-18) 65.76%
12 Melbourne (3-19) 62.61%

*-Formerly "Kangaroos"

Amazing how in 4 seasons, the table is very nearly inverted from before. West Coast was unstoppable, while Port Adelaide and Fremantle were locks to win at least a dozen every year. Geelong ripped through the league last year, and they have to be prohibitive favorites for a repeat.

Playoff Results:

First Round
(1)Geelong 17.17(119) def (4)St Kilda 9.15(69)
(2)Hawthorn 18.19(129) def (3)W.Bulldogs 11.10(76)
(8)Collingwood 19.11(125) eliminate (5)Adelaide 14.10(94)
(6)Sydney 17.8(110) eliminate (7)N. Melbourne 11.9(75)

Geelong, Hawthorn earn byes to Preliminary Finals

Semi-Finals
(3)W.Bulldogs 16.10(106) eliminate (6)Sydney 9.15(69)
(4)St Kilda 17.4(106) eliminate (8)Collingwood 9.17(72)

Preliminary Finals
9/19: (1)Geelong vs (3)W.Bulldogs
9/20: (2)Hawthorn vs (4)St Kilda

Grand Finals
9/27

[Autotelik]

Cool. I used to follow the AFL very closely (grew up in Sydney), and the Swans-Eagles rivalries in recent years were very intense. Looks like West Coast has slipped a bit though. Now to find a place where I can watch these....